Tag Archives: sema

SEMA 2018: The winner of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour will be made into a toy car

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Hot Wheels went on a 15-city tour of the USA this year, in search of one car they would make into an actual toy car. At each stop, the gang from Mattel held a car … Continue reading

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SEMA 2018: All five generations of Toyota Supra

As you might have heard, Toyota is coming out with a new Supra. It makes sense that they would use the aftermarket extravaganza that is SEMA to build some excitement for the model’s long-awaited return. What we didn’t expect was … Continue reading

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NEWS: Nissan reveals 370Z Clubsport 23 ahead of SEMA 2018

Nissan has revealed a new enthusiast-oriented Z variant ahead of the 2018 SEMA show.  With the 400-horsepower 370Z Project Clubsport 23, Nissan is considering offering an official tuning package for the Z. The company intends to use this year’s SEMA … Continue reading

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SEMA 2017: Toyota will always have trucks

Nissan may have the “it” cars, says our editor at large Ricky Silverio, but Toyota will always have trucks. Toyota may have misstepped when it brought a fleet of Camrys to SEMA, eliciting even a roast from Honda, but when it comes … Continue reading

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SEMA 2017: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

As the largest trade event for custom cars in the US, possibly the world, SEMA can serve as a showcase for innovation and creativity, sometimes giving a spotlight for bloody knuckled backyard builds to shine. The flip side, though, is that SEMA’s high profile pressures talented craftsmen into pouring cash into cars whose sole purpose … Continue reading

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SEMA 2017: An unmolested Toyota MR2 gave us the strength to carry on

Dearest Martha, As I took respite to pen this letter, I wondered if I would return from war the same man I was when I left home. SEMA is hell, my love. It has been just two days, but it … Continue reading

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SEMA 2017: Datsun is the new “it” marque

Despite brief surges in sport compacts, drifting, VIP, and other trends from the land of the rising sun, SEMA is still mostly an American car show. If we had to put a number on the resto modded muscle cars pushing 1,000 horsepower, lifted … Continue reading

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SEMA 2017: Toyota brings fifteen Camrys to world’s biggest tuner show

We’re not sure if Toyota is trolling the entire aftermarket community, but Japan’s largest carmaker basically filled their entire SEMA display with nothing but Camrys. There were no tricked out Toyota 86s, lifted Land Cruisers, or slammed Siennas. Nope, just … Continue reading

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SEMA 2016: JNC sights, sounds, and more sights

As is always the case with SEMA, there’s a ton of stuff to see, and a lot that doesn’t fit into any of the other categories (or any category, for that matter). As our senior editor Dave Yuan puts it, … Continue reading

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SEMA 2016: Two Miatas to whet your touge fantasies

They were teased last week, now they’ve been revealed at the 2016 SEMA Show. The pair of driver-focused Miatas will never see production, but they exist to show what is important to the company, and to offer two wildly different … Continue reading

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QotW: What JNCs would you like to see at SEMA?

The biggest aftermarket show in the world is taking place this week, and JNC is headed to the automotive circus. Last year Datsuns were hot and it seemed like the aftermarket was finally recognizing the Nihon classics. What’s next? Which JNCs … Continue reading

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SEMA 2016: Mazda Miata concepts

It’s that time of the year, the automotive spectacle that is SEMA is almost upon us. Manufacturers have begun to preview their builds soon to debut in ‘Vegas. For their part, Mazda just dropped a pair of special MX-5 Miatas.

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SEMA 2015, Day 01: The emergence of old school Japan

SEMA is for cars what Paris fashion week is for clothes. Top companies strut out their latest wares, often outlandishly decked out on stunning models. Most of the time it’s stuff you never see in the real world, but these shows act as barometers for the hottest … Continue reading

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NEWS: CA bill to allow fee payment instead of smog test introduced

Currently, California law states that your car must pass a smog test to be street legal if it is 1976 or newer. Unfortunately, that leaves a lot of classics un-registerable or sold for scrap during the Cash for Clunkers program. A new … Continue reading

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JNC‘s top stories of 2014

As we mentioned, 2014 was the Year of the JNC. As it draws to a close, let’s look back at the things that most interested JNCers over the last 365 days.

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EVENTS: 2014 SEMA, Part 02 — Bosozoku style comes to America

If there was one thing we learned from SEMA this year, it is that you must widebody all the things. From Beetles to Benzes, everything is being massively flared, often with bolt-on over-fenders, ducktail spoilers and turaichi shakotan stances. Bosozoku style has finally come to America. 

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EVENTS: 2014 SEMA Show, Part 01

Toyota’s SEMA presence this year was all about the Baja 1000. Ivan “Ironman” Stewart and his perfect hair were hanging around at the booth along with a ground pounding Toyota truck in the old tricolor racing livery. 

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NEWS: The first ND Mazda MX-5 race car is here

Mazda relentlessly brags about how it’s the most raced marque in America. Now it’s apparently gunning for the world. Today at SEMA, alongside the world’s first Miata race car — built from one of the Chicago Auto Show display models — … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2013 SEMA Show

The SEMA show is a purist’s worst nightmare. Stock is a dirty word to these people. You won’t find a single unmolested car in the whole Death Star-sized convention hall, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Those brave enough … Continue reading

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PRODUCT GUIDE: Return of the SSR Formula Mesh, but with a twist

The SSR Formula Mesh is one of the classics, a vintage barrel whose design looks fantastic on cars from nearly any era. The good news is Speed Star Racing is bringing them back. However, the catch is that they’ll only … Continue reading

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